Wise Oak
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Can My Dangerous Magic School Be a Badly Run Public School?
So, I have a few short stories happening in a magic school (two actually) and both of them are not very safe. They have leaky classrooms, dangerous, and sometimes cursed equipment, and unsafe lessons. Bullying from other students is common, but that’s the point. The … read more »
280 – The Ten Thousand Doors of January
What is a story, really? Is it just words, or is it a door to another world? In the second week of our Hugo series, we’re looking at The Ten Thousand Doors of January, a book that is very interested in those questions. We explore … read more »
Five Over-Burdened Stories and How to Fix Them
It’s incredibly common for new authors to run into the problem of over-burdening their stories. Their creative minds keep churning out new story elements, and they seem so cool, so why not just include them all? This is how you end up with stories that … read more »
If Stories Treated Straight Couples Like They Treat Queer Couples
As we’ve learned from numerous popular works, showing a basic romance is impossible. Kissing is too gauche for a general audience. The word “love,” especially preceded by “in,” doesn’t sound natural in dialogue. And if you look away for one second, a character dies senselessly. … read more »
Join the Horde
Those faceless grunts won’t recruit themselves. Read more »
How Do I Describe Fat Characters Respectfully?
I am having trouble with descriptive language for people, particularly big or fat or heavyweight people. What is some general advice you would have (or maybe a word bank? (if that wouldn’t be too much trouble)) on descriptive words for heavier weight people. I hope … read more »
279 – The City in the Middle of the Night
The season of Hugos is upon us, and Mythcreants is getting into the award-winning spirit! Not by winning awards of course, but by critiquing each of the six novels nominated for the biggest award in speculative fiction. This week, we’re doing The City in the … read more »
What Does and Doesn’t Make a Signature Weapon Cool
Speculative fiction loves to give its heroes signature weapons, some of which become as memorable as the heroes themselves. This is most common in high fantasy, but it also crops up in urban fantasy, superhero stories, space opera, and cyberpunk. From swords and axes to … read more »
Judging What Backstory to Keep and What to Let Go
Years of daydreaming and obsessing over ideas can leave us with so much background information that it becomes difficult to tell a concise story. If you include too much history, your story will be an overburdened mess. Even so, your story will probably be better … read more »